I had faced this fear; and it was becoming abundantly clear, that while I may not have been driven or particularly gifted—I was determined, and born in a different time and place, under favorable circumstances which offered me more choices than most. And that life was for the living.
A Trail of Stars – Our Fight for Sanity in an Insane World
July 6, 2016
Excerpt from, A Trail of Stars – Our Fight for Sanity in an Insane World.
September 4, 2023
What I believed I saw on the bus that day was the base of the social pyramid, where a poverty of spirit wasn’t only the hopelessness that came from the lack of social mobility it was also a recognition of the need for God. The fear of death lay bare on the surface. I had faced this fear; and it was becoming abundantly clear, that while I may not have been driven or particularly gifted—I was determined, and born in a different time and place, under favorable circumstances which offered me more choices than most. And that life was for the living.
W hat I believed I saw on the bus that day was the base of the social pyramid, where a poverty of spirit wasn’t only the hopelessness that came from the lack of social mobility it was also a recognition of the need for God. The fear of death lay bare on the surface.
C ultures that justified and even glorified murder and violence told the truth about people. Fear was carried through generations. The local police in Mexico, armed with automatic weapons, made a point. A necessary preparedness that undergirded fragile social and political structures. Origins that I suspected were rooted deep in oppression, and the denial of power, along with the loss of independence and control. People never having much of a say that made a difference, living lives of desperation in the fear of not being able to trust the words or intentions of the leaders of social institutions.
And even on the top of the social pyramid, there was still fear of not having power over death or that the base would choose to climb to the top. Fears that were overcome by living and helping others climb beyond their limits. I had seen this in my own country. In my own life I had known the fear of never becoming one’s own man and feeling relegated to a lower station.
Despite a prosperous family, there had been few guarantees for me beyond the affirmations of expectations that I might follow a specific path I wasn’t made for.
